BIANCA Pagdanganan’s last-ditch bid to retain her US LPGA tour card begins today (Thursday in the US) in the penultimate leg of the series, The Annika Driven by Gainbridge, at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
Ranked 101st in the Race to CME Globe rankings, Pagdanganan needs a strong finish at the par-70 6,349-yard course located 177 kilometers southwest of Orlando and finish in the top 100 to keep her precious tour card.
“The top 100 players on the Race to the CME Globe points list keep their cards for next season, with those in the top 80 receiving the best status available,” noted an article on Golfweek last week.
“Some players who finish outside the top 100 will go to Q-Series in December to try to improve their status,” the report added.
The five-year tour veteran had an encouraging performance in her last stint, finishing in a tie for 11th place in the Lotte Championship presented by Hoakalei in Oahu, Hawaii.
But the outing also showed her inconsistent play after scores of 67-75-67-70 over four rounds.
The ICTSI-sponsored Pagdanganan needs to be disciplined and focused in her drive to be among those in contention in the 72-hole competition, which offers a total prize of $3.25 million (roughly P191.086 million), with $487,500 (P28.6 million) going to the champion.
Known for her power off the tee, Pagdanganan has a chance to take advantage of the course that features “lush green turf, wide fairways, large undulating greens, and crushed quartz sand.
“The greens are large, undulating with significant tiers. Some say that the greens are shaped like elephants buried underneath.”
